[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 65 (Thursday, May 9, 2013)]
[Senate]
[Page S3322]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             REMEMBERING LIEUTENANT COLONEL ROBERT M. BROWN

  Mr. KAINE. Mr. President, I rise today to honor a fallen airman who 
died in military service to this country. U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. 
Robert M. Brown, of Portsmouth, VA, was lost on Nov. 7, 1972 in his F-
111 near Quang Binh Province, North Vietnam. The remains of Lieutenant 
Colonel Brown were located in North Vietnam and returned June 7, 1995. 
He was finally identified on December 14, 2011 and accounted for on 
February 25, 2012.
  Robert Brown graduated from the US Naval Academy in the top 30 
percent of his class and was given his choice of branch of service. He 
chose the US Air Force and trained as a pilot while adding to his 
bachelor of military science degree with an electrical engineering 
degree from the University of Michigan. Before his first deployment he 
was assigned to NASA and worked on the Mercury and Gemini Space 
programs. During his first tour of duty in Southeast Asia in 1966, 
Major Brown compiled an impressive record of 299 combat missions while 
flying the F100 Super Sabre. Upon returning to the United States, he 
went to work in Research and Development for America's Anti-Ballistic 
Missile Systems program as a project scientist. In 1972 he returned to 
Vietnam for his second tour as a highly decorated fighter pilot to fly 
the most advanced combat aircraft of its time--the F111A Aardvark.
  On November 7, 1972, the F111A crew, call sign ``Whaler 57'' departed 
Takhli Airbase, Thailand on a single aircraft strike mission. Its 
target was the Luat Son Highway ferry and ford nestled in a populated 
and forested area where the highway crossed over the river 
approximately 24 miles south of the major port city of Dong Hoi. After 
reporting that its mission was proceeding normally, radio contact was 
lost after 0400 and by 0500 a 2 week long search and rescue effort was 
commenced.
  Efforts to recover ``Whaler 57'' were unsuccessful, but the remains 
of Lieutenant Colonel Brown have finally been found and identified. 
Lieutenant Colonel Brown is survived by his sister Gail and his 
children Beverly, Margie, and Bruce. Today, I ask all Members of the 
Senate to join me as we honor the life and legacy Lt. Col. Robert M. 
Brown, and the other Americans in our Armed Forces who have made the 
ultimate sacrifice for their country. There are no words fitting enough 
to fully express our thanks.

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